Hmmm. Zanzibar, Troy or Timbuktu this summer?

Shangri-La

 I recently read an interesting article on one of my favorite websites, lonelyplanet.com, called 10 Places of Myth and Legend. Although some of these walk the credibility line, I loved the concept of the piece. It begins like this: 

Even though we can get to the other side of the world in less than a day, there are still places that resist becoming everyday. Over the centuries they have accumulated tall stories like Manhattan accumulates tall buildings. So pack your compass, reading glasses and imagination for a journey to sites of myth and legend. Here are ten places that are caught in the imagination more tightly than on any map.

So what are these mythical places we can hop a plane, boat, Landrover or camel and visit? Here are some the article listed:

Zanzibar, a place right out of 1001 Arabian Nights that entered 1940’s pop-culture with the Crosby/Hope/Lamour movie, Road to Zanzibar 

Valley of the Kings, the ancient site along the Nile where the tombs of those famous pharaohs Ramses and Tut were carved into the hills. Also a popular shore tour with photo ops on all those modern Nile cruises 

Troy,  famous for Helen of, a huge wooden horse and more recently a man-candy movie starring a mostly unclothed Brad Pitt

Karakorum,Mongolia, the 13^th century capital of Genghis Khan’s empire. If you’re thinking of a quick summer vacation-- there’s no way to get there by air.

Carthage, home of Rome’s archenemy Hannibal and his army of elephants

Timbuktu, famous for being the end of the earth somewhere in the desert (Trivia note--the 1959 movie was filmed in Kanab, Utah, home of Best Friends Animal Sanctuary)  

Avalon,  of the King Arthur legend which also figures in the delightful and totally anachronistic  BBC’s series, MERLIN

Shambhala,Tibet, the real Shangri-la of James Hilton’s book,  Lost Horizon,  and the 1937 movie with Roland Coleman and Jane Wyatt

Are any of these destinations in your summer holidays plans? Are you vacationing someplace equally as interesting? If not, take heart and check out Lonely Planet’s list of 10 places that don’t exist (but should)  and plan your next voyage to Narnia or Middle Earth.